Last Day at the Hospital

Wrapped it up today and we think the nurses will do great with the ultrasound systems in the rural clinics. The Malians are such gracious people. It's been so great to return... and they want us to come back.

Remember I said there were 8 babies born in 48hrs?Well, I was wrong. It was in about 14 hours! Needless to say, they were busy. Today, the lady with the large right ovarian mass came in for surgery. The cyst (benign) turned out to be 43 lbs (20 kg) and was intact. I'll spare you all the photos on this, but I must admit they're very interesting. Fascinating!

It was Thursday market again, so of course, very busy in town. We always plan on 'driving around' to get to the hospital. That's because the main road is filled with vendors and commercial activity. Anna, Kay and I headed into the market - ready for more mayhem.

Off to Bamako to catch our return flights. Will have lunch and market time in Segou (on the river Niger) and then drop our luggage off at Air France. Flight at 11:30pm... I'll catch up soon...

Kay's Birthday

It's Wednesday... one more day of training to go. Tomorrow will be graduation day - the students will receive a certificate of completion of this course. We celebrated Kay's birthday today. Anna made birthday cake.

Busy at the hospital today - I peaked into Labor & Delivery in the morning. Normally there are 2 beds (not even a curtain inbetween). This time there were 4 women in labor - one just delivered. They just pull in an extra stretcher when needed. I later saw this lady and her newborn on a mattress on the floor in the hallway! Yesterday, a woman on her 15th pregnancy (no live children) delivered a healthy term baby. So, after a very quiet weekend, 8 babies arrived in the past 48 hrs.

This woman and her premature baby was worthy of capture. Aren't they precious! And twins having lunch...

Tuesday Potluck

Just had a nice potluck dinner with the CMA (Christian Missionary Alliance) gang - small group of about 30. The Canadians were well represented with the team from AB, Barry (Manitoba) and me.

Olive gave a tour of the hospital today to the newcomers, so I tagged along. The hospital has a fascinating history. It opened about 5 years ago. On the day it opened, they had no idea whether anyone would even show. They had 15 patients show up! And just prior to getting the OK to open, the ministry of health du Mali had to give the final approval. The group found out at 11pm on Wed evening that the minister would come and inspect the hospital at 9am on Sat. (!!) ... and she didn't want to see any evidence of construction material. Well, this lit the fire and about 75 people/missionaries/family/anyone cleaned the place spic and span. Saturday morning came and the hospital got a clean bill of health!

The hospital gets about 2 cargo containers of medical equipment and supplies a year... just come see the warehouse! The hospital continues to grow. They have delivered over 5000 babies (they deliver about 180 babies/month) and have done over 1000 surgeries. And right now, that's with 2 doctors (1 OB/Gyn, and 1 Peds). They are very grateful for all the volunteers that come!

Je suis fatigué... a bientot!

Monday

Some great progress at scanning at the hospital today. The students are really improving and they will certainly be adding more value to the rural clinics and villages. Each clinic is doing 60 - 100 ultrasound scans/month. They refer 3-5% of the patients to a hospital. Not all of them come to Koutiala because it's too far. They will typically go to the nearest hospital. These are the clinics:

Centre de Sante: Famorila (Allaye), Farakala (Abel), N-Torosso (Pierre), Baramba (Youseff), Sanekuy (Francois)

Our walk today took us through the neighborhoods - very busy... lots of people, especially kids who would follow us and insist on having their photos taken. I still haven't figured out a way to have them smile while taking the photo. Their smiles are beaming afterward though when they see themselves in the viewer - just love these digital cameras! They love it too.

A team arrived today, from Canada (Grand Prairie - Beaverlodge, AB). They're a work team and a cook. Welcome Mel, Doug, Danny, JJ and Anna! I'm sure the hospital will find lots for them to do - construction, roofs, cabinets, plumbing, tiling, etc. They're here for 3 weeks.

Sunday already

In Mali a week already! Wow, time flies. We went to Bethel Bible School for service this morning. It's conducted in both French and Bambara. Gabi, a missionary in Baku translated for us. The energy was great. And then, in true Sabbath fashion, we had a relaxing day... by the pool. Oh, did I mention that before? The pool is new since our last visit and quite a reprieve from the city and the heat. So, overall, not a bad way to spend Sunday.

I wanted to capture some other notes:
The employees at Women and Children's Hospital in Koutiala make $3/day
The power has been interrupted daily. Quite an inconvenience, but the locals take it in stride. The hospital has generators to keep the OR going.

It's just past cotton harvest time. You'll see bails/mounds of cotton roadside. It's Mali's greatest export. I hope to get a tour of the factory in town this week when another team comes in. These bails are in a field, walking distance from the guest house. The seeds are crushed for linseed oil. And yes, I've done a little more exploring of their fabrics - I just love them! The colors are intense, fresh and bold. The women at church wear their Sunday best and they look fabulous.

We take walks everyday to explore the neighborhood and trails. The people are very friendly and it feels very safe. It's very dusty and dry. The women work so hard.